BUSINESS INTERRUPTION AND PANDEMIC TOP ALLIANZ RISK BAROMETER

Business interruption is the most feared risk by business, according to the latest Allianz Risk Barometer, followed by pandemic and cyber. These three interlinked risks all scored highly and attracted almost twice as many responses as the fourth-placed risk of market developments. Pandemic risk rocketed up the ranking to second from 17 and was the main cause of business interruption in 2021, followed by cyber. Prior to 2021, pandemic had never ranked higher than 16 in ten years of the Barometer, a “clearly underestimated risk,” the insurer said. Cyber, which was the top ranked risk in 2010, was still ranked as a top three risk in many countries, including the UK and the US. “The Allianz Risk Barometer 2021 is clearly dominated by the Covid-19 trio of risks. Business interruption, pandemic and cyber are strongly interlinked, demonstrating the growing vulnerabilities of our highly globalized and connected world,” says Joachim Müller, chief executive of AGCS.